Here's the stock response I expected when Reggie Wayne and Bruce Arians were asked if they were surprised by the Indianapolis Colts' 6-3 start.

Nah, not at all. We knew we had the talent and character in this room to do some special things. The only ones who thought we'd struggle were people outside of this locker room.

That's not the response we got. Instead, we got permutations of the following:

Heck, yeah, we're stunned. Stunned beyond words. All those rookies and first-year Colts? All the injuries? A first-year GM, a first-year coach, a first-year interim coach, a first-year quarterback and rookies all over the place. Are you kidding?

First, I appreciate the honesty, a concept that has reintroduced itself to the Colts since the new regime arrived.

Second, I agree. Completely.

If you thought this was an eight- or nine-win team, show me the betting slip you used for the over/under in Vegas. Otherwise, you're a lying scoundrel.

Nobody saw this coming.

I couldn't be more shocked if Keira Knightley texted me to meet her at the local pub for a nightcap.

And the MVP of it all has been none other than Reggie Wayne, who turned 34 on Saturday and somehow is near the top of the league in virtually every pass-catching category.

For years, we've looked at Colts receivers and thought, "Well, they're a product of playing with Peyton Manning." And they've sensed that. Once, in a rare interview with Marvin Harrison, I asked one too many questions about his on-field relationship with Manning and he snarled, "The football is brown everywhere."

The point being, "You could put me with any other quarterback and I'd get my numbers."

Clearly, that's true of Wayne, as we have been seeing throughout this season. He hasn't just been special on the field, but has emerged in the post-Peyton vacuum as one of the off-field leaders.

"I've been rejuvenated, definitely," Wayne said Friday. "It's a whole new regime. Even this week's game (against New England) feels different. Normally, there's so much hype with the two quarterbacks. You can tell it's died down, which is good. It's just another game.

"For me, motioning has helped a lot. A lot. Defenses can't key in on me. In the old times, they knew I'd be on the left side; there was no mystery to it. They could double me, roll coverage to my side. Now they really have no idea where I am. That causes confusion and helps me out with matchups."

Wayne has always held a leadership role, but this year, he has taken a more active interest in what happens in his locker room. He has also spread his wings and does a Tuesday afternoon radio show on WNDE-1260 AM.

"I really feel like it's my duty to be more vocal now," he said. "Normally, I try to lead by example and only speak when I felt I really needed to. I talk more now because of seniority. When Peyton was here, Jeff Saturday, there were a bunch of guys who were older than me. There was a chain of command. Now it's my time to let guys know what needs to be done.

"In the past, it was all Peyton Manning. You go to Denver now, it's all Peyton, even though they've got Champ Bailey there. He's the face of the league. What are you doing to do? You've just got to sit back and wait your turn."

What's most remarkable is that Wayne and Andrew Luck didn't have a ton of time to work this offseason, with Luck missing some organized team activities because of his academic requirements at Stanford. But Luck went to Miami in July and worked with Wayne and some other receivers for three or four days.

"I called Andrew and told him, 'Use some of those frequent flier miles and get down here,'" Wayne said.

Can you imagine what this combination will be like once they spend an entire season, and offseason, together?

"Those things develop, but I'm surprised how quickly, because Reggie's in so many positions," Arians said. "It's not like he's sitting on that left side and you just throw balls to him like you used to and you get that route tree. He's got 50 or 60 different alignments and different routes."

They still haven't come close to establishing the kind of relationship Manning and Wayne had. Manning could use all kinds of non-verbal communication, both men would systematically recall a similar situation and how they handled it, and make a play.

With Luck, the non-verbal, intuitive stuff isn't quite there yet. With Luck and Wayne, it's one of those situations where they'll come to the sideline after the fact, check with one another and say, "Yeah, I saw that defense. Next time we ought to do this."

So far, it's been one of those magical seasons for a playoff-bound team that, in all honesty, doesn't have playoff team talent. But they have been bound together, fighting for a cause greater than themselves.

The Colts are surprising the league, and they are happily surprising themselves.

Bob Kravitz is a columnist for The Indianapolis Star. Call him at (317) 444-6643 or email bob.kravitz@indystar.com. You can also follow Bob on Twitter at @bkravitz.